ADF probes photos of soldiers 'skylarking'

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is investigating after photographs depicting soldiers skylarking with guns were broadcast on commercial television last night.

One photograph broadcast on Channel Nine's A Current Affair program shows what appears to be two soldiers pointing guns at the head of a kneeling soldier who is wearing Arab-style headgear.

Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic says the Department is taking the matter seriously and has an idea as to who the soldiers are.

"I guess negligence and recklessness are two words that should never be used in relation to weapon handling, and some of the behaviour in the photographs is clearly at odds with the training that the people in the photos have received," he said.

"They're handling the weapons quite inappropriately and they do risk quite serious consequences as a result of that behaviour."

Brigadier Nikolic says the soldiers also risk the hard-won reputation of the ADF.

"There are a wealth of policies that will prevent the majority of people acting in this way, but there's no number of policies that will prevent the occasional outbreak of stupidity which this appears to be," he said.

"We are acting on the photographs and those people involved, if they are identified and we can take action against them, we certainly will."